Howl of the Moon
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: A port key gone wrong sends the Girl-Who-Lived to another world. However an encounter with one of the more infamous wizards leads to her being cursed by the Witch of the Wastes, and she is forced to deal with the same wizard everyone fears...Howl. Can she find love in time to break the curse, or will the war that has started keep her from getting home?
1. The Curse

Luna "Kohaku" Potter was not having a good day. It all started with running out of Privet Drive and right into the waiting arms of Sirius Black, her godfather.

That hadn't been too bad, but then they had been attacked by Death Eaters and caught in the middle of some sort of spell. In the resulting aftermath, the portkey took her to someplace she had never seen before.

That had been two years ago, and she had recently turned seventeen. She had tried to get in touch with the Ministry, but aside from avoiding the King's Wizard (a woman by the name of Sullivan) who had detected her magic, there had been nothing.

What made her day bad was the fact that because of her dislike of large crowds, she had taken a back road and was now stuck dealing with one of the soldiers trying to flirt with her.

All she had been trying to do was find the bloody bakery! Was that too much to ask for?

Luna was not even remotely interested in the soldiers. She tried to back away, but found herself caught. The idiot didn't even pick up the subtle queues she was giving that he was making her very uncomfortable!

Suddenly she backed into a firm chest, male from the feel of it.

"Hey there. Sorry I'm late," spoke a voice from behind her.

Considering how dense these two were, she chose to pick the newcomer.

"Where've you been?" asked the man.

She turned and found a blue-eyed blond wearing somewhat outlandish clothing and a rich blue pendant around his neck.

"Who are you?"

"I'm with her. Why don't you two take a little walk," he said, waving his fingers grandly.

The two soldiers found themselves under a spell and forced to leave.

"Nice marionette spell," she said.

His eyes twinkled in surprised delight.

"How did you know it was a spell?"

"Because they were too dense to figure out I wanted nothing to do with them after five seconds of me trying to back away," she said flatly.

He laughed, and it sounded like bells tinkling.

"Don't blame them. Things are pretty tense. So where to? I'll be your escort," he said.

She gave him a look. She had that too-familiar feeling of something sneaking up on them.

"Who's chasing you?" she asked.

"How did you know I was being chased?" he asked as they walked.

"I know the feeling of someone stalking me, but the fact the hairs on the back of my neck have yet to go up means that they aren't interested in me. And your timing is far too convenient," she said.

"The Witch of the Wastes," he admitted.

"That old hag?" said Luna incredulous, "What did you do to annoy her?"

"I discovered her cruel side and dumped her," he said with a shrug.

They suddenly took off into the air as they had been surrounded. Luna didn't act uncomfortable at all, she was used to flying after all, though this was a new one.

"You're a natural," he complimented her.

"I'm used to flying...though not without something to keep me up," she said.

He left her on the upstairs walk at the bakery she had been trying to find.

"I'll draw them off. Until we meet again my fair lady," he said with a grandiose bow.

"Show off," she said.

"Luna! Are you alright? I heard you had a run in with a wizard!" said Sophie. Her sister worked at the bakery.

"I'm fine Sophie. He actually helped me find this place," said Luna.

"You need to be more careful. What if that had been Howl?"

"The day someone like Howl succeeds in gaining my heart is the day I get a boyfriend," she said, rolling her eyes. It was well known that Luna had no interest in any of the boys in town.

"Why don't you stay at the shop tonight. The last thing I would ever want is for my friend to be captured by that ghastly Howl," offered Sophie.

"Sure. I need to catch up on a bit of work anyway," said Luna.

Luna worked part time at the Hatter's, mostly because they were the only ones to hire her without any references or proof she was a citizen of the country. Besides, who would expect a powerful witch to work in such a tacky looking hat shop?

Luna locked the door. Sophie had gone to bed an hour ago, leaving her to mind the store until closing. She heard the bell go off...and she knew she was in trouble. She had securely locked the door not one minute ago.

"What a tacky little hat shop...and you're the tackiest thing of all," said the old woman.

Luna suppressed a growl. She knew she was going to get into trouble after Howl had stumbled on her while being chased. She was going to give him a black eye for this!

"The Witch of the Wastes I presume," she said turning around.

"So you aren't as stupid as you look. How surprising," she said snidely.

"I should have guessed you would show up after that idiot Howl bumped into me. I have no interest in your lover's quarrel," said Luna flatly.

"And what a tongue to boot! A pity you haven't got any magic... I would have loved to teach someone as spunky as you," said the Witch.

Luna didn't feel like telling her that Sullivan had tried to nab her for her magic, but she had declined. If she wanted to be trained, she would have accepted the offer to become Sullivan's apprentice two months after falling into this place!

The Witch smirked evilly. Luna fell back into a defensive position when she felt something latch onto her body. That hag just cast a curse on her!

"The best part is that you can't tell a soul about that curse. My regards to Howl," she said smugly.

Luna looked in the mirror the first chance she had.

"That...that hag!" she nearly screamed.

She looked like something out of a horror movie! Her eyes were cat-shaped, her hair had turned silver, she had fangs poking out of her mouth and her nails had been filed into claws. Seeing twin bumps on her head, she carefully touched them to find horns.

This was a disaster!

Luna growled. So that witch thought it funny to curse her, eh? Next time she saw that woman she was giving her a piece of her mind!

Hearing Sophie come down the stairs, likely having heard her near shriek, she quickly cast a glamour spell.

It wouldn't hold up to any real scrutiny from another magical, but it would keep a muggle like Sophie from realizing anything had changed.

"Luna? You alright?"

"It's fine, I just had a really irritating customer. I had to kick her out and she wasn't too pleased with my manners," lied Luna.

"Oh. Well get some sleep and we'll start bright and early tomorrow," said Sophie.

"About that... Sophie, maybe it would be best if I took some time off. After the stress of running into that wizard earlier I don't think I could give my best," said Luna.

"True...you could use a vacation. When you're ready to come back to work let me know," said Sophie.

"Thanks. I'll finish closing up and get some sleep," said Luna.

Luna managed to leave without alarming Sophie too much, and grabbed some lunch from a nearby vendor.

First things first, she had to give Howl a piece of her mind for getting her mixed up in his lover's spat with the Witch of the Wastes. Then she was going to hex that bint until she removed the curse she put on her!

It took her the better part of the day to get to the Wastes, and she was starting to tire from so much up-hill walking.

Spying a handy stick, she tried to remove it.

She uncovered the oddest scarecrow she had ever seen in her life. His head was a turn-up and his clothes were all ratty.

"Ouch. Who put that curse on you?" she asked. She could tell that this wasn't a scarecrow at all from the amount of magic on him.

The magic itself felt familiar, though she couldn't place it. It wasn't the Witch's work though.

"Don't suppose you could find me a place to rest for the night while I hunt down the two idiots responsible for turning me into this could you?" she asked.

The scarecrow starting bouncing off, reminding her of a pogo stick.

Several minutes later it came back with a familiar looking castle.

She beamed at him.

"Why thank you! That's the home of one of the people I was looking for!" she said brightly.

She wanted to have...words...with a certain wizard.


	2. First day of the job

Luna took one look at the inside of Howl's home and her fingers twitched. The ingrained OCD caused by years of living as a slave in her aunt's home made her want to grab a broom and start cleaning at the sight of the cobwebs.

After the day she just had climbing those hills, she didn't hesitate to sit down on the first chair she found that was next to the fire.

"Wow... I don't envy you girlie...that's a heck of a nasty curse," said the fire.

"Don't I know it. When I see Howl I'm giving him a piece of my mind for getting me in the middle of his bloody lover's spat with the Witch of the Wastes!" said Luna snorting.

The fire demon choked back a laugh. This girl had spunk!

"That's going to be a pain to break the curse...and from the looks of that second spell on you, you can't even tell someone that it's not your natural appearance."

"I'm going to give that Witch a tongue lashing next time I run into her. So what's your name anyway?"

"I am the great and powerful fire demon, Calcifer!" he said grandly.

"Impressive name for an impressive fire spirit. I'm Luna Potter," she said.

"You don't seem very surprised by a talking fire," he noted with interest.

"I've nearly been eaten by a three-headed dog and bitten by a basilisk before. A bound fire demon isn't going to scare me that easily," she said flatly.

"Tell you what...if you break the spell on me, I'll break the Witch's curse."

"Never trust anything you don't know where it's brain is," said Luna, paraphrasing something Mr. Weasley had said after that nightmare with the Chamber of Secrets and the diary.

"Not like you have much of a choice," said Calcifer smugly.

"Not exactly. Spells like this are usually powered by the witch or wizard who cast them. If all else fails I can simply toss that hag over a cliff or something," said Luna vindictively.

Calcifer stared at her. She was certainly no ordinary girl. And not many would be bold enough to say that they would openly push someone as terrifying as the Witch of the Wastes over a cliff to end a spell.

Feeling the kinks in her legs, she winced a bit. She hated walking up hill after losing so much practice doing just that with the moving stairs of Hogwarts. She didn't realize until the sun hit her face that she had fallen asleep in that chair. She was going to have kinks in her back from that, she just knew it!

She blinked twice when she realized Howl's face was right in front of her own, and instinct guided what she did next.

She punched him in the jaw.

"OW!"

"You complete idiot! Thanks to you that hag made an appearance where I work and now I'm stuck like this because of your lover's spat!" she growled.

Howl looked at her incredulous. He clearly didn't recognize her.

"Have we met before?"

Luna rolled her eyes and gave him an annoyed look.

"You dropped me off at the bakery yesterday when the Witch of the Wastes came stalking you with those blobs," she told him.

"What happened?" he said in shock, clearly comparing that pretty girl to the demonic looking one before him.

"That hag witch showed up at the hat shop and thought it funny to use me as her messenger is what. All because you happened to use me as a distraction!" she growled.

Calcifer was too busy laughing at the look on Howl's face. Usually the girls didn't hit him until _after_ he did something to break their hearts! And by that time he had grown bored of them.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think she would curse you just because I happened to help you out!" he said honestly.

"You do realize that until this bloody thing is broken I can't go back to work don't you? The last thing I need is to be chased out of town because I came in looking like this!"

Seeing Howl wince as that had probably not occurred to him, he agreed to let her stay.

"Master Howl, what's going on?" asked the young apprentice.

Luna rolled her eyes.

"The Witch of the Wastes was probably jealous because Howl helped me earlier and thought it amusing to try and get me kicked out of town. I only came looking for Howl because being out in the wastes would making finding that hag easier and because it's partly his fault I'm like this at the moment," she explained to him.

"Oh."

The boy's stomach rumbled. Clearly he wanted breakfast but the scene earlier had distracted him.

Seeing the pans with distaste, she found the cleanest one of the lot and started making breakfast, to Calcifer's protest.

"May all your bacon burn," he growled.

"Try it and I'll dump water on you," she countered.

"Hey!"

Once she finished cooking, they sat down for something to eat. Howl seemed to be avoiding one side of his face though...she had given him a good bruise with her punch.

"What's that in your pocket?" asked Howl.

Luna blinked. She didn't have any...oh that hag did not leave something in her pocket!

Seeing the red paper burn up on contact with Howl's skin, Luna's features became a scowl. She was so making that witch pay for this.

"Master Howl! What does it say?" asked Markel.

"You who swallowed a falling star, oh heartless man, your heart shall soon belong to me," he said.

"Falling star? You can't swallow a falling star," said Luna in confusion. Suddenly her eyes fell on Calcifer...surely he wasn't...

"That can't be good for the table," he said, clearing it off.

His appetite ruined, he fed what was left of his breakfast to Calcifer before he vanished.

"Lazy old hag. When I get my hands on her..." growled Luna.

* * *

Markel was watching in open disbelief and horror. Luna was crazy! The moment breakfast was finished she became a possessed woman, grabbing the first broom she could get her hands on and began waging war with the house.

"Has that idiot never heard of a cleaning spell before? I've heard of lazy wizards but this is ridiculous!" she said, clearing cobwebs.

"Luna, help!" said Calcifer, almost drowning in soot.

Luna took pity on the fire demon and cleared the fireplace out before laying several logs down on the fireplace...and a small pile so he could grab them himself.

She then drowned the floor and began to mop it until the place shined.

Once she finished the dishes, she gave Markel an evil look.

"You have five minutes before I go upstairs," she warned him.

His eyes widened.

"Leave my room for last!" he called out, dashing upstairs.

She snorted. Then cast a look around the house.

"Anyone watching?" she asked the demon.

"Who would be watching the house?" he asked in confusion.

She pulled out a stick, exactly eleven inches, and cast an all-around disinfectant spell on the room.

"There! Now the place really is clean," she said pleased.

"You're a..." said Calcifer staring at her.

"I didn't make it to the Wastes without a few tricks... and that pest Sullivan can kiss the hem of my dress for all I care," she said flatly.

She started making her way upstairs to tackle that mess.

Looking outside to get some fresh air after all that work cleaning the downstairs, she was impressed. This castle couldn't be easy to move!

"Calcifer, are you the one powering the castle?" she asked.

"Of course! Who do you think keeps the place warm and the water hot? Howl certainly won't lift a hand to keeping this place going!" he called back.

"Wow! Talk about a first rate fire demon! I am deeply impressed!" she said to him honestly.

Calcifer puffed up with pride.


	3. A day at Star Lake

Howl returned to his castle and looked at the place in shock. It was cleaner than he had ever seen it, and he could tell that there wasn't even a speck of dirt. Dragging a single finger along the sink, he found that it was completely spotless.

Exactly how thorough was Luna when she cleaned the place?

"Amazing isn't it? Girl's a demon with the broom. She made sure to get every corner," said Calcifer, grabbing another log.

"She's something else. I've never had a girl actually punch me before I've broken her heart...let alone manage to bruise me," he said.

"She only acts prickly. Maybe you'll have the chance to prove you're not as hopeless as she seems to think. And she's definitely more than you expect," said Calcifer cryptically.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she's met someone named Sullivan before, and refused their offer," said Calcifer.

"Sullivan? You don't mean..." said Howl, eyes wide. He looked to where the couch was in shock.

Seeing Luna sound asleep with the curse loosened just a little bit, he finally knew she had been telling the truth about being that woman he had helped to the bakery after the soldiers had been bothering her.

"I don't know. What I do know is that if you get on her bad side you'll regret it. Did you know she was perfectly willing to consider tossing the Witch of the Wastes off a cliff an option to breaking the curse?" he said.

Howl turned to the fire demon, eyes wide.

"Seriously?"

Calcifer nodded.

Howl looked at the sleeping teenager in disbelief. She was fiery, passionate, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Not to mention the first girl he had ever met who didn't hesitate to punch him in the face for waking them up. There was just something about her that wouldn't let him go.

"Warm up my bath will you?" he asked. He could solve this mystery later.

"There you go, using up all my hot water again!" complained Calcifer.

Hearing the water run, Luna yawned.

"The idiot back?" she asked.

"And using up my hot water again," he said in annoyance.

"What is he, a bloody peacock?" she muttered, rolling over to go back to sleep. Calcifer snorted in amusement.

* * *

Seeing the state of the food in the kitchen, Luna grimaced in annoyance. She would have to make a food run.

"Calcifer, where does Howl keep his money?"

"Third cabinet under the bookshelf," he told her.

"Any requests for supper?" she asked.

"Chicken," he asked, surprised she had even bothered to ask what he wanted to eat.

"Are Markel and Howl still sleeping?"

"What do you think?"

She cast a glamour and spelled the bag to be bottomless before she left the castle. She was back in thirty minutes with enough food to last them a few days and started making breakfast.

"What do you want for breakfast Calcifer?"

"Got any sausages?" he asked, perking up. She tossed him a few, assuming his fires would cook them anyway.

Howl and Markel woke up to the smell of cooked food and fresh tea.

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise," said Howl.

He wasn't expecting her to cook breakfast.

Luna rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what's worse, the fact you two sleep in all day or never bother to use cleaning spells to keep your house from looking like a complete wreck," she said in irritation.

Howl looked at her in surprise.

"I meant I wasn't expecting you to cook breakfast for all of us," he clarified. She was the prickliest woman he had ever come across!

"I may be annoyed with you, but that doesn't mean I would let you all starve," she said in irritation.

Markel was about to eat in his usual manner, but found himself kicked, twice, by Luna.

"Why'd you kick me?" he complained.

"You need to mind your table manners. No one wants to watch a boy your age act like an animal while eating," she said. She had enough of that with Ron.

Howl looked at her in surprise.

"By the way, I put your potions in a box for you to sort. I didn't want to put them in the wrong order," said Luna.

He had wondered where they were.

"I'm surprised you didn't put them back on the shelf," he said.

"The last thing I want to deal with is a temperamental wizard who's upset about his hair being the wrong shade," she said flatly.

Well that and she couldn't remember where the bottles went by the time she had finished cleaning the second floor.

"So what are your plans for today, Luna?" asked Howl.

"Laundry," she said. Her back had been killing her after cleaning the house inside and out. She had saved the clothes for today.

Howl got up and gave Calcifer the remains of his breakfast. He didn't seem to have much of an appetite. He vanished into the black portal.

* * *

"What is this place?" asked Luna.

"Star Lake," said Markel. Then they noticed something sticking out of the castle.

"Aiyah...not again. How did he find me?" she asked, pulling out the cursed scarecrow.

"You know him?"

"I'm fairly certain he lead Calcifer to me earlier. I have no idea who cursed him, but whoever did it was being particularly vindictive," said Luna.

It took them a few hours to get the laundry clean and to dry it out. Markel decided to help Luna out by putting it away for her.

"Luna, I'm done with the laundry," he said.

She woke up with a snort.

"My back is going to kill me for sleeping in this chair again," she said.

Luna heard the ding of the portal spell, and pretended to still be asleep. Howl was in too much pain to notice the fact she was watching his form shift back into being human.

_'How odd...did he mess up the animagus transformation to look like that?'_ she wondered.

She listened to his report with little interest. So the wizards here could take monster form, but at the price of being human? They didn't sound very good at magic to her. Hearing Howl come up beside her, she kept her breathing calm. His hand brushed a few stray hairs away from her face before he went upstairs to take yet another bath.

"Is Howl back?" she asked.

Calcifer leveled a look at her. She hadn't fooled him at all.

"He is...wasting all my water, _again_," he said.

"What was with his bird form? Did he mess up the transformation or something?" she had to ask. It wasn't like he would hear her over the water gushing.

Calcifer looked at her in surprise. She had seen that and wasn't freaking out?

"He didn't mess up the transformation. If he fully becomes a bird he'll never be able to go back to being human," said Calcifer giving her an odd look.

"I know an animal transformation spell, and that was clearly one that wasn't done properly," she said annoyed.

"What do you mean not done properly?"

"I mean that his form is far too big and if he's really in danger of losing his humanity then he's doing it all wrong. You're only supposed to take the form of an animal, not become one. Only an idiot would lose themselves to their animal form when the change is only supposed to be physical and not mental," she said.

She snorted suddenly.

"And with how vain that idiot is, his animal form is probably that of a crow or a raven of some sort," she said.

Calcifer didn't know what to say to that. Was it possible Howl was doing it all wrong and that was why he was having so much trouble turning back?


	4. Potions Mishap and an overdue talk

Luna woke up the next morning to breakfast. Howl had gotten up before her it seemed...that or he wanted to show that he wasn't a completely hopeless case.

She had had the oddest dream last night...

"Morning," she said.

"Good morning," he said in return.

Howl had overheard part of the conversation Luna had with Calcifer, having heard voices over the water. He had caught the bit about his animal form being that of a bird like a crow or a raven, but he didn't understand what she was talking about. It was as if she knew of a spell that would allow such a transformation without losing your mind to the form.

That was impossible as far as he knew.

Luna noticed the state of the pantry. It looked like she would have to have another food run again.

Markel came with her this time, if only because he was bored. She ignored his sniping comments about his dislike of vegetables and fish.

She only paid half a mind to the battleship coming in as a wreck. Her mind was entirely on the Blob Men she had just seen nearby.

Too bad she couldn't follow them to that blasted hag, otherwise she would have gone after them.

"Let's head back Markel," she said irritably.

"But I want to see the ship!" said Markel.

Luna rolled her eyes.

Suddenly three bombs landed on the water. It was close to the ship but it didn't hit it.

"Well that's one way to get people's attention," she said dryly.

They returned to the house and Luna was about to make a cup of tea when they heard Howl's scream of rage.

Howl ran downstairs in a panic, towel around his waist. His hair wasn't the usual blond, but a ginger color that could put the Weasley family to shame.

"Luna! I thought you said you didn't touch the potions!" he yelled.

"I didn't even open them you idiot! You must have mixed them up yourself!" she shouted back at him. He had nearly given her a heart attack with that scream!

Howl was so upset over his hair color that his magic went out of control.

_'Definitely a raven or a crow..._' she thought.

Seeing him having a pity party, her limited patience snapped.

"You complete and utter idiot! Who cares if your hair is a different color? Do you think I complained when that spell went wrong and landed me in this damn world? Do you think I went into a depression over the fact I might never see my friends again?" she shouted at him.

Howl was so into his misery that he didn't hear her words...but Calcifer did. Luna slapped Howl before leaving the house to cool off. She didn't care if she got wet, she was just too furious for words.

Finally she came back in to deal with the cranky Howl.

"Markel, get the bath running for a bit. We had better clean up this slime off of him before I get back to work on the house...again," said Luna tiredly.

"Okay!" he said racing upstairs to perceived safety.

"Don't expect me to clean him!" she shouted after him. She chuckled when she heard Markel curse.

Once he was safely in the bathroom (having seen the towel fall off as it hadn't been that secure in the first place) Luna took one look at the downstairs and scowled.

She was not cleaning this up in her bad mood.

She simply cast a few cleaning spells and got rid of the slime the easy way.

"Too lazy to clean?"

"More like I'm not in the mood to clean up after that pity party," she clarified.

"So...another world?" he asked.

"Transport spell caught by something else. Woke up with only my bag and the clothes on my back with no idea where the hell I was," she said.

"That explains a lot. So are you a witch?"

"Got a problem if I am? Not like I'm fully trained anyway," said Luna.

"Can you help Howl?" asked Calcifer seriously.

"Depends on whether or not he knows to ask for it. My best friend once said I have a 'saving people thing', but it's hard to save people from themselves," said Luna.

"Seriously?"

"Yup. By the way...who was stupid enough to teach someone as vain as Howl how to call on the spirits of Darkness?!" she had to ask.

"His teacher Madam Sullivan," said Calcifer.

"Why am I not surprised?" she asked to no one in particular. Sullivan was an idiot, one who wouldn't hesitate to use others to get what she wanted.

Luna made a glass of warm milk for Howl.

"You up?" she asked.

Howl was splayed on his bed. His room was an antique nightmare. She couldn't even tell what half this stuff was.

Howl shook his head. He didn't want to get up.

She was about to leave when he grabbed her hand.

"Don't go."

"So tell me, exactly why were you so set on blond?" she asked.

"I like gold," he said.

"It's a ridiculous color. Black suits you better," she told him.

One of his toys started to flare above him.

"The Witch of the Wastes is trying to find my castle again," he said.

"Even if she did find it, she would have to deal with me first," scowled Luna.

"Are you a witch?" he asked. It had been bothering him for a while now.

"A half trained one. Calcifer told you?" she asked.

"No. I guessed it," he said. It explained quite a bit. How she knew Sullivan, the fact she left the potions alone, her treatment of Calcifer...

"I'm not completely without my tricks," she smirked.

"What did you mean when you told Calcifer that my animal form had to be a raven or a crow?" he asked. That had been bothering him ever since she said that.

"You mean you... I have a better question for you. Why on earth do you keep willingly messing up the transformation part? It's supposed to be a full transformation into the animal, yet when I saw you in that form you looked more like you were simply putting your human head on a bird's body!" she asked.

"What?" said Howl, actually looking at her in surprise.

"I can get someone just learning how to be an animagus screwing up the most basic part of the transformation, but the way you turned back tells me that you've been messing it up on purpose!" said Luna completely irritated.

"What do you mean, messing up the transformation? A full transformation would make me lose my mind!" he said.

She rolled her eyes.

"Only an idiot would lose their mind in their animal form. I know two people who can take the full form of their animal side, and one of them spent weeks as a dog without forgetting he was human! Why do you keep forcing the transformation like that?" she asked.

Howl stared at her in shock. She knew someone who could turn into an animal for weeks without losing themselves?

"Can you teach me that spell?" he pleaded.

"I haven't found my animal form yet, but I know the basics of the spell itself. Sirius taught me to keep my mind off of a few things before I landed here," she told him.

Howl looked at her with hope in his eyes. Perhaps this was a way to prevent becoming a cursed beast for the rest of his life.

"Now what are we going to do about the King? I saw those invites," she said.

"I can't avoid going to the palace. I took an oath that I would serve the king when I attending the Sorcery Academy," said Howl.

A sudden thought occurred to her.

"You don't think that the Witch of the Wastes got an invite as well...do you?"

"Most likely," he said.

"Good. I can probably take your place and tell Sullivan where to stick that cane of hers. And if I'm lucky I can break that hag's nose in the process," said Luna vindictively.

"You're not going to force me to face Sullivan?"

"That old crone is a manipulative witch. I thought I recognized that magical signature on that turnip-headed scarecrow, and now that I think about it, it matches hers perfectly. I wouldn't be surprised if she cursed the other country's prince at an attempt to force you out of hiding," said Luna.

Howl's eyes went wide.

"You think she would go that far?"

"She almost cursed me when I refused to be her apprentice after she picked up on my magic," said Luna.

"You would go into the palace for me? Why?"

"Like my friend Hermione once said, I have an annoying habit of jumping into the worst situations to save people," said Luna with a shrug.


	5. Payback and Confrontations

Howl placed a stronger glamour on Luna. He even slipped a ring around her finger so she could find the castle afterwords. Unseen by Markel, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek for luck. Luna blushed but headed out.

Howl was nice enough, but she didn't know if he was boyfriend material or not just yet. He was a vain jerk sometimes.

* * *

Luna was passed by an overly amused Witch of the Wastes.

"I see you haven't broken that spell yet. Did Howl throw you out?" she asked snidely.

She didn't see it coming. Luna punched her so hard that she felt the cartilage in the woman's nose break under her fist.

"That was for the curse. And this is for trying to get me kicked out of town," she snarled. She blasted the blob men apart, to the shock of the witch.

"You're a witch!" she said in anger.

"Don't assume that a girl is helpless just because they prefer not to get in between a lover's spat. Though I can see why he dumped you if you're that petty," she said. Then she smirked. "Have fun walking to the palace. They won't reform after the hex I hit them with."

They were at least five blocks from the palace and the Witch was no spring chicken. She walked away from the old woman with a skip in her step.

She paused by the stairs when she saw a little dog stuck trying to get up them.

"Oh good grief. Having trouble are you?" she said amused. She was in a good mood after having her revenge on that witch.

She lifted the dog up, and realizing how heavy it was she put it on her shoulder before she started walking up the stair. Thankfully it didn't put up too much of a fuss, so she was able to get it up the stairs easily. Setting it down, it licked her hand in thanks.

"Good dog," she said.

"Ms. Pendragon!" announced the herald. She followed a young blond boy who reminded her of Howl before the potions mess turned his hair back to a more natural black color into another room. Seeing the annoying old woman who had tried to force her into an apprenticeship, she glared.

She didn't like Sullivan...she reminded her too much of Dumbledore.

"I didn't expect to see you again. Especially after the words you said to me when last we met," said Madam Sullivan.

"I only came because Howl was too much of a damn coward to come himself," said Luna.

She sat down, but it was clear she was ready to fight her way out.

"Have you rethought my offer of an apprenticeship?" she asked, smooth as silk.

"Considering you were willing to start a war just to get Howl back under your thumb? No thanks," said Luna coldly.

"I have no idea what you mean," said Sullivan calmly.

"That cursed scarecrow? You didn't think I wouldn't notice your magical signature all over that one? I bet you even told that hag of the Wastes where to find Howl in order to bring me out too," said Luna.

"A happy coincidence I'm sure," said Madam Sullivan sipping her tea.

"Right," said Luna sarcastically.

Hearing a motor overhead, she saw a double of the King appear. She wasn't fooled for a moment.

_'Howl you idiot! I had everything under control!'_ she thought angrily.

"So nice of you to join us...Howl," said Madam Sullivan smirking.

"I couldn't exactly leave my girlfriend to face you alone, now could I?" he said calmly. Luna shot him a surprised look. Since when was he her boyfriend?

Madam Sullivan tried to capitalize on his cursed form, but Luna kicked him in the shin, snapping him out of it. He managed to break them out of the room and outside.

The tiny dog she had helped jumped into her open bag, eager to stick with her. Apparently she was a better owner than Madam Sullivan. Good thing she liked dogs.

Howl got them in the air on the same aircraft he had likely stolen, but Luna wasn't driving that thing. Too bulky.

"Think you can keep up with me?" she asked.

"What?" he said in surprise. She reached past the dog to grab something sleek in form.

"A broom?" he said in disbelief.

"Try to keep up, wizard!" she laughed, jumping off the seat and onto her Firebolt. She cast a disillusion charm on them both.

Howl was shocked. He didn't know she could fly on a broom!

"You can fly?"

"I'll get rid of the pests! I'll catch up with you in a bit!" she called back. The dog dove into her bag, realizing she intended to do something stupid.

Luna cackled with glee as she swooped and dove into their pursuers and sent them crashing into each other.

When it came to the air, these two bit hacks were no match for her flying ability! Howl flew onwards, but he kept half an eye out for Luna.

He was very surprised when she flew upside beside him with a smirk.

"If I didn't know any better I would swear you doubted my flying ability!" she laughed.

Howl laughed at her expression. It was a freer look than he had ever seen on her face before. She actually looked quite beautiful when she wasn't scowling at him.

* * *

They made it back to the castle in good time, though Luna made sure to show Howl some of her flying moves to surprise him. He had no idea she was so good at it. Though he nearly had a heart attack when she performed what she called a Wronski Feint.

Landing near the castle, they went inside. The dog eagerly got out of the bag, as some of Luna's stunts were scary enough. She made sure he had some food and water before she collapsed on the couch.

"So why did you follow me?" she asked.

"I wasn't about to let you face that woman alone. Who knew what she would have done to you?"

"I would have been fine. Unlike her I'm used to fighting others, and I was prepared to dodge anything she cast at me. Besides, I was in a really good mood."

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Broke the Witch of the Wastes' nose and made her walk several blocks to the palace. Should have seen the look on her face when she realized I really was a witch like her," snorted Luna.

Howl stared at her before he starting laughing. She truly was something else.

"Can we keep him?" asked Markel, petting the dog.

"Of course we can. I didn't rescue him from that bint for no reason. Besides I like dogs," said Luna.

"I thought he jumped in your bag," said Howl amused.

"What's the difference? I doubt Sullivan's going to be happy she lost her pet, and besides I don't think she was that good an owner anyway," said Luna.

"I don't think he appreciated your moves on that broom though," said Howl grinning.

"Broom?" asked Markel.

"I'll show you later," said Luna. No reason to hide it now.


	6. Moving day and feelings realized

Markel was whooping with laughter as he held onto Luna. He had never flown before.

Howl used that time to get things ready for their move. Once Calcifer was in place, he whistled for them to come down.

"That was so much fun! Can we do it again?" asked Markel.

"Maybe once I figure out the spells for broom flight I'll teach you how to fly on your own," said Luna.

"Yippee!"

Luna, Markel and the dog yet to be renamed were on the table. Luna watched as Howl cast the spell to move the house and felt something reach out to her magic and touch it tentatively. She let it brush against her core and felt something mix with it. It was a very...unique sensation. She wanted more, and wondered if this was what it felt like to be kissed by someone you loved deeply.

When it ended, she felt actual disappointment.

What was that?

* * *

Luna looked at her new room, and heard Howl come in. Markel was upstairs with the dog she planned on simply calling Canis.

"Liking your new room?" he asked smirking.

"Maybe..." she said coyly.

She felt his chest brush against her back.

"You know I felt something very strange for a simple moving spell," he said calmly.

"Oh?"

"It felt like a wild storm just waiting to be unleashed...and when it was over I had the strangest feeling you were disappointed by something," said Howl. He had seen that look on her face and wondered why she was unhappy.

"Maybe I was disappointed that it ended," she said, turning to face him.

What happened next she would remember for years. Howl took one look at her emerald green eyes...and kissed her full on the lips. She moaned as her magic reached out to his and they connected in a violent manner.

When the kiss ended, she felt her magic slowly coil back inside her. She had never felt a kiss _that_ intense before.

"Wow..." she said.

"I know," he replied, hugging her. Then he brought up a subject that he had been wanting to avoid. "I have to end this war. It's too dangerous for us while Madam Sullivan is on our tail."

Instead of being accepting as he had hoped, she gave him a light knock to the head.

"Don't be an idiot Howl. You don't have to end the war at all. You just have to give the other side a reason not to _be_ at war. The only reason they're so angry is because their prince went missing."

"What?"

"Sullivan cursed their prince into the form of a scarecrow in order to start a war and draw you out. I'm fairly positive she gave your location away to the hag to see if that would bring you out into the open...she definitely wasn't expecting that woman to snag me as well."

"Sullivan started this?" said Howl angry.

"Her magic is all over that scarecrow. And I might have a way to break that spell," said Luna smirking.

He kissed her again. Finally a way to end this war without hurting anyone else.

* * *

Luna had the turnip-headed scarecrow outside. She drew her holly and phoenix feather wand and aimed it at the cursed prince.

"Finite Incantatum!" she said clearly.

She poured as much of her magic as she could into those two words. Her power warred with Sullivan's until finally something gave way. Unfortunately that something was her wand.

The wand crackled and she had to toss it away from her hand before it burst into flames.

So much for the brother wand to Voldemort. That wand had never fit her anyway.

She looked at the spell closely and swore.

"Damn that Sullivan! She must had tied it with a 'true love' spell so it couldn't be removed!" she said angrily.

"A true love spell?" said Howl, having watched the show. He had heard of those, but they were rare.

"She tied this curse around a true love spell so that only when he's kissed by the one he's destined to be with will it break. Luckily these things tend to draw those who have it cast to their love," said Luna annoyed.

She had a good idea of who it was too. She had seen some sort of magic coming off her employer Sophie a week ago and knew something had to be happening. Sophie was a full muggle, not a hint of magic in her body. Yet she started to show signs of magic being cast on her.

Chances were that Sophie would be the one to break the curse...and end this damn war.

"So what's our plan?" asked Howl.

"Since we can't break this curse and my wand was just destroyed, we might as well find a calm place so I can show you the first steps to the animagi spell," said Luna.

"I may know of someplace like that," said Howl.

* * *

"Oh wow!" said Luna.

It was gorgeous! And perfect for the plan she had in mind.

Howl watched his girlfriend's expression as she looked at his private place. She was the first one he had shown this to, mostly because the other girls had been flings at best.

She was prickly, yet compassionate. She had a fire in her belly that she wasn't afraid to use, yet she also knew how to temper it. She had massive magical reserves, but she didn't hesitate to help others if she could. She was a rare mixture to him.

"I don't get it. How can you be so gentle and kind, yet act like a prickly shrew?" he asked.

She chuckled.

"Hermione said it best, though I had to look up the definition after she said it. She called me a Tsundere, meaning I hide behind a confident exterior, while hiding my kind and gentle side," said Luna.

She also called her a 'Miyazaki nut' after she found out Luna had watched the movie _Spirited Away_ a hundred times and could quote it. She had fallen in love with the dragon spirit Kohaku, which had lead to Hermione once calling her Haku-chan as a joke, and the name had stuck.

Howl found a nice clean spot for them to meditate on.

"From what I remember of Sirius' lessons, the first thing we need to do is center ourselves. He said this also works when starting Occulmency, which is shielding your mind from intrusions," said Luna.

She had vanished before her fifth year, and had she stayed she would have been subject to Snape's idea of Occulmency lessons.

The two sat cross legged across from each other. Luna felt her magic reach out to touch Howl's, and the two cores mingles.

She found herself in a void of the mind.

"Where are we?"

"A void between our magics. Sirius spoke of it once but I've never had the chance to find it before. Not with Sullivan trying to capture and force me into an apprenticeship. Those damn contracts are magically binding, which is probably the reason why you followed me to the palace, despite knowing I had it completely under control."

Howl winced at the reminder. She had chewed him out for an hour for doubting her, before she had taken a look at the contract itself and found that it had a forced compulsion to come to the palace if summoned. Howl was such a coward when it came to confrontation with people sometimes, so that was the only reason he had even gone in the first place.

Unfortunately there wasn't anything they could do about it, not unless they found a way to change his magical signature permanently.

Howl noticed an odd crow fly to his arm and settle on his shoulder. Luna took one look at it and grinned triumphantly.

"I knew you had to be a crow!"

Howl blinked, then look at the animal.

It was preening itself repeatedly, and giving his earrings and necklace a speculative look. Like it planned to steal it later.

"What about you?"

"Don't know. I've tried to figure out my animal form for two years now, but no luck. I think it's hiding from me," she said with a pout.

Howl, however, could see something in the distance getting closer. It was long, silver in color, and had horns on it's head.

He would almost say it was a dragon, but all the dragons he had ever seen had wings.

Was it possible the curse the witch had placed on her was one that showed her animal form, or at least small parts of it?


	7. Fixing what's broken and new familiars

Luna and Howl spent the entire night in that field, and Luna used some of that time to create minor barriers around her mind. But first she helped Howl by making a minor barrier between him and his animal form, something Sirius had told her was essential if you were going to spend hours or longer in your animal form.

This was quite likely the reason Howl had such trouble changing back. He hadn't known to create a shield to separate the human from the crow.

Feeling her magic snap around his own mind, Howl felt a sense of ease he hadn't had in years...possibly since before Calcifer came into his life and he first accidentally unlocked his cursed form.

In exchange for shielding his mind from the animal, Howl placed one of his own around hers to prevent mind readers.

* * *

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me!" said Luna.

She had finally found out where the second new color lead to, and it was the outside door to the hat shop!

"Luna! You're alright!" said Sophie in relief.

"I'm back. And I have news," said Luna.

Sophie made a pot of tea while Luna explained things to her. Her hand shook a little when she found out the entire war, all those lives lost, was because the King's Wizard was trying to bring her wayward apprentice back into the fold when he wanted nothing more to do with her.

Then she dropped the real bombshell on the girl.

"I'll be blunt. The King's Wizard cursed the missing prince and tied to another spell most people wouldn't use for a good reason," said Luna.

"What spell?" asked Sophie, her hands wrapping around her tea glass like a lifeline.

"A 'true love found' spell. It forces anyone it's cast on to seek out their true love without any thought towards whether they're compatible or if they're already in love or not. It simply pairs someone with the highest chances of being your true love and draws them together. It's usually cast on foolish princesses or princes, though in this case it was tied to a cursed form," said Luna.

Sophie believed her, since Luna had dropped the glamour and shown her the new appearance. Sophie had always acted like a good friend to her, and knew that Luna was trusting her.

"What has this got to do with me?"

"For the past week, you've had magic coming off you. I had no idea why until I saw that scarecrow and realized what happened. In short you have the greatest possibility of being the missing prince's true love, though it wouldn't make you fall head over heels for him or anything. It just draws you together," said Luna.

Sophie relaxed a little. So she wouldn't be forced to love him or anything.

"The only way this war will end is if the Prince is found and returned...and Sullivan is hung from the gallows for cursing him just to get Howl back," said Luna.

After this, there was no way Sullivan would get out of being hung for starting a war just to force her missing apprentice out of hiding. The commoners would never let this go, and neither would the other country for kidnapping their prince!

Sophie winced.

"Now to more pleasant matters. Since you're likely the Prince's so called true love, we can at least bring you to him and keep you out of Madam Sullivan's greedy hands."

* * *

She was a sad woman. After being forcefully stripped of her magic, they had laughed at her and let her go. She knew why Sullivan had allowed her to leave...she wanted her to find Howl and that little brat who had stolen his heart.

That brat...she had hidden her true nature from her and allowed herself to be cursed for an excuse to get close to _her_ Howl. And she had the audacity to lay a hand on her person and strip her of the minions she had created to find her lover.

Then that blasted Sullivan had the gall to strip her of all her magic and make her a feeble old woman again!

She would have her revenge for this affront.

* * *

Howl knew he almost had it. This transformation felt more like it should have when he first started. Where had he gone wrong?

Suddenly there was a pop and he felt himself looking from a bird's perspective.

He cawed and flew around the room, testing out his new form.

And for once he didn't feel the bird's mind trying to infringe on his.

"Wow Master Howl!" said Markel deeply impressed.

"You had most of the steps down, but your methods were wrong. Now you can fly about and no one will be the wiser," said Luna.

The crow landed on her closed fist and cawed at her.

"Impressive, for a half-trained witch," said Calcifer.

"Now if only I could find a way to do the same with my animal form," she said annoyed.

The crow cawed at her, asking how to change back.

"The one thing you did have right was the method to turn back to human. Try visualizing your human form and it should allow you to turn back," said Luna to the crow.

The crow went cross-eyed for a bit, before it flew off her hand and turned into Howl again.

"That was an unusual experience," he said.

"At least now you can turn into your animal and back without worrying about losing yourself."

"True. And it didn't feel as strange as the time Calcifer and I made that contract," said Howl.

"I had a feeling there was more to him than met the eye. He's a star demon isn't he?"

"Got that right!" said Calcifer proudly.

"I'm guessing that when you made that contract he broke all the spells Sullivan had on you, which is why you really left. And why you were so terrified of returning to the palace. You didn't want to be bound again," said Luna.

"Got it again! Making a demon contract breaks any bindings placed on you because your signature is so altered. Howl shouldn't have gone to the palace after making it, otherwise that magical contract would have become void," said Calcifer.

"Hmm...perhaps once Howl's contract is broken I can make one with you myself. Who knows what the idiots back home tried to put on me," said Luna.

Canis made a strange huffing sound.

Luna decided to see what he wanted. That dog was no more Sullivan's spy than Howl was happy to see her.

"Hm? If I didn't know any better I would swear there's a spell to keep you silent on you," said Luna.

She borrowed one of Howl's wands, little toys that Markel used to practice with occasionally, and cast the same spell she tried on the Prince.

"Finite Incantantum," she said.

"_Finally! That old bat tied that silence spell on me when I complained about her going too far with Howl! Really, binding a wizard that strong to her was a bad idea from the get go!"_ said Canis.

"I thought you were too smart to be normal. So you're some sort of canine spirit then?"

"_Dog demon. I take a different canine form depending on the one I make a familiar contract with. Sullivan favored one of those weak little lap dogs, so I ended up looking like a pampered pet for the past fifty years,"_ said Canis.

"Really? I'm guessing you want to change sides, since her plan's about to unravel and she's going to the gallows once we break the spell on the Prince," said Luna.

"_You better believe it sister! I'm not stupid...the second you showed up at the palace and challenged her plan outright I knew her time was up. Add to the fact you've got a developing soul bond with Howl and I knew you'd be a better master."_

"Good thing I like dogs then. So how do I make a familiar contract with you?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea Luna? He is a demon after all," said Howl, pouring some tea. He had some vague memories of Sullivan's dog talking once, but he had forgotten them after he had left her side.

"Like Calcifer isn't reliable? Let's face it, if he becomes my familiar we won't have to worry about him going back to that woman or letting her spy on us anymore. And he'll be able to walk up stairs on his own for once," said Luna, scowling at the fact she had to haul him up all those blasted stairs.

"_Finally! I hate being short!"_ said Canis.

The dog walked her through the familiar contract, or at least a basic one. It would give him permission to seek out new masters once she died, or in the event she tried to do something that would lead to her death. Aside from that he was her guard dog and constant companion.

Once the deal was struck, he linked his contract to her magical core and his form changed.

He went from a prissy little lapdog (a form he hated) to a half-wolf, half-grim mixture. Probably because of her association with Remus and Sirius.

Canis looked at his new form and gave a tooth-filled grin.

"_You have good taste!"_

Howl stared. Definitely not what he had been expecting. He thought the dog would turn into a boxer, or maybe a playful Labrador or something.


	8. Transformations

Sophie was staying in Howl's house for the time being, mostly for her safety. If Sullivan knew that Sophie was the one to break the Prince's curse, she might have her killed to keep the Prince from being freed.

At least things had calmed down.

Until Sophie's mother showed up.

* * *

Luna took one look at the bag the woman had left, and scowled.

"Really? That's the best she could come up with? Calcifer, where does the black dial lead?"

"No where in particular. Just some weird place Howl goes into a lot," said Calcifer. Even he had no idea where that one lead.

Luna changed the dial to black before she tossed the bag into it. She saw it burst into flames halfway down.

"Good riddance," said Luna.

"Where's mother's bag?" asked Sophie.

"It had a spying bug in it. Sullivan used your mother to try and find us. I got rid of it," said Luna.

"Oh."

"In the meantime we had better prepare to leave. I overheard word from the grocer that enemy airships filled with bombs were heading in this direction, and I for one don't want to get caught in an air raid," said Luna.

"Where's Howl?"

"Flying about, as usual. Have you closed for the day?" asked Luna.

Sophie nodded.

"Then we'll stay in the wastes. Only a fool would go shopping for a hat in this mess, and Sullivan is still looking for us," said Luna.

"I'll go grab my things. Shouldn't take longer than ten minutes," said Sophie.

Luna spotted Howl flying about in his fake animal form and scowled. She wasn't losing him because he finally decided to grow a damn backbone.

She jumped on her broom and flew up to meet him. Only he could see her.

"What's up?"

"There are enemy airships with bombs heading this way and you chose _now_ to quit running? Get back to the house while I move us to the Wastes. No reason to tempt fate just because you're being a bigger fool than usual!" she told him scowling.

"Fine, fine," said Howl.

He was afraid she would curse him with something unpleasant if he didn't do as she said.

They were heading back when Howl grimaced in pain.

"What's wrong?"

"Cal...Calcifer!" he gasped. He turned into his crow form and rode on her shoulder.

She pushed her broom and they made it back to the house in seconds.

Luna got him inside and found something horrible.

"YOU!" she shrieked.

It was a feeble old woman, or at least that was clearly what Sophie had thought.

It was the Witch of the Wastes. And she had Howl's heart!

The fire of Calcifer was too much for someone stripped of magic, and the woman had burned from it. Sophie, trying to save her, had poured water on Calcifer not knowing he had Howl's heart. If Luna didn't do something fast they were all in trouble!

Howl was in great pain. Luna grabbed the heart and pressed it against Howl, releasing Calcifer from the contract.

Luna looked at the woman in fury. How dare she try to hurt Howl like that!

Turning the dial and taking them to the wastes, she looked for Calcifer. He was hovering near Howl in concern.

"_What do we do now? Howl's too weak to be moved and with her here he's in greater danger! Sullivan could find us at any minute!" _said the demon in concern.

"You removed Howl's heart before right? Can you take something else or does it have to be a vital organ?" she asked.

"_Anything is fine really, but most people offer their heart or eyes."_

Luna thought quickly.

"Can you remove his appendix then?"

Calcifer gave her an odd look.

"_Appendix? Why would that help?"_

"It would create a new contract, and humans can live without them. We need to leave the wastes immediately before that hag returns," said Luna.

She had kicked the witch out as soon as Howl was breathing normally.

"_The castle will stand out too much,"_ said Calcifer.

"Then we'll have to discard it...or at least most of the castle. We can't stay here!" said Luna.

Luna moved most of her things and Howl waited outside while she removed Calcifer. The fire demon had taken Howl's appendix by Luna's suggestion, and while he felt something missing it wasn't as painful as when he had offered his heart.

The castle collapsed inwards on itself. It was as if the Weasley house lost the magic supporting it.

Calcifer managed to move the castle once Sophie offered her braid. Bonding again with Howl had kept his current power levels at their same level, but he needed the extra boost of a temporary contract.

The odd contraption started to move under Calcifer's power and they all held on tight.

In the distance bombs were destroying Porthaven...Sophie watched with tears as her home was completely destroyed.

* * *

Calcifer's boost lasted for all of an hour, and they were in the middle of the mountain range when it finally failed. Howl was leaning heavily on Luna while Sophie watched them both worriedly. It was partially her fault they were in this state after all.

Suddenly the spell holding the two legs up failed entirely, and the planks crashed onto the mountain. The prince, realizing the danger, using the stick holding him up to slow them down, though it shattered under the pressure.

That managed to at least stop them from all falling to their deaths, though Sophie was so moved by his selfless act that she kissed the turnip head he had. And she hated turnips.

The spell was broken, and the Prince was freed.

However there was a small problem...the wood under them buckled the addition of the prince, and Luna realized with horror that it would break.

Hearing the wood snap, she cast out all doubts and fears and pulled on her magic.

Her animal form, which had been hiding from her, answered the desperate plea for help.

* * *

Howl woke up to a dragon's roar, and felt something move under him.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Luna turned into a dragon!" said Markel excitedly.

"She _what_?!" said Howl in shock.

He looked under him, and flowing like a raging river he found himself on a silver dragon.

"How...?"

"_It seems my animal form decided to quit hiding,"_ said the dragon...no, Luna.

"So what should we call you now?"

He could feel her chuckle.

"_Call me Kohaku when I'm in this form. So your majesty, where should we drop you off?"_

"Just keep following away from the sun. My kingdom is in the east," he said.

"_Hold on tight then!"_ she called out with a laugh.


	9. Resolutions and return

_**Now that we're away from the movie, the chapters will be the usual length I make them while they go back to Luna's home world. Sorry if the shorter chapters put you off.**_

* * *

They made quite a sight when she landed.

"It's the Prince!"

"He's alive!"

"Send for the King!"

The Prince brushed off his people with practiced ease. It took him an hour to explain things to his father, as well as how Sophie had been the one to break the curse on him.

His father was furious that it was the Witch Sullivan who had caused this entire mess and killed hundreds of his soldiers just to get her apprentice back under her thumb.

"I cannot thank you enough Ms. Sophie, for saving my son," said the King.

"It was nothing, really. After he saved us long enough for Luna to get us here, it was the least I could do," said Sophie.

Luna, for the most part, was keeping an eye on Howl and Markel. After remaking the contract Howl was having some trouble getting used to having a heart again.

"You must be the witch Luna. Thank you for helping my son and returning him safely."

"Anything to one up that hag Sullivan. She once tried to curse me because I was smart enough to decline her offer of an apprenticeship. Once I knew who cursed your son, I had to help him out," said Luna with a bow.

"I will see that woman hung for this ridiculous war."

"I'm fairly certain the other king will agree once his people start rioting and calling out for her blood. Anyone who's so desperate to regain a lost apprentice enough to start a mockery of a war deserves the gallows," said Luna fervently.

"Indeed."

* * *

Luna and Howl were in the court yard listening to the executioner list Sullivan's crimes against the kingdom. It had taken little time for the people to call for her head once the other kingdom let it be known that she had cursed their prince just to start the war. The commoners were furious that her machinations had lead to the deaths of so many.

Sullivan didn't look one bit remorseful. Her plan had failed, and she accepted the price of her folly. Perhaps if she hadn't gotten the Witch of the Wastes involved, Howl might have been in her grasp now. The drums sounded...and the trap door under her opened.

Her neck snapped instantly and she was dead. Howl shivered at the sight.

One of his nightmares was finally gone for good. Luna leaned against him a little bit and he went closer to her. At long last he was free of his tormentor, and the witch of the wastes would never bother him again. She had been killed during the air raid.

* * *

Sophie ended up marrying the Prince, mostly because she did in fact fall for him. And shortly after their wedding Howl and Luna wed right before her eighteenth birthday.

After finding that they weren't welcome back in the kingdom, they had chosen to settle down in the neighboring one with the Prince's blessings.

Unfortunately the field had been destroyed in retaliation for Howl's meddling shortly before Sullivan was found out.

There were now three new colors on the dials. Including the strange black one that Luna never figured out lead to.

There was a silver, gold and bronze colored dial.

The gold one lead to the Palace of the Prince and Sophie...they had a standing invitation and Howl agreed to help out when asked, so long as they didn't put him under another magical compulsion like Sullivan had. All they had to do was knock on the door or leave a letter through the specially magicked slot. Howl would show up in short order after that, or Luna.

The bronze one lead to Howl's new estates and a large library he had there. It was abandoned after the last owner had died a decade ago, and no one wanted to claim it since it was too expensive to repair the mansion that went with it. Considering Howl's tendency to 'borrow' broken down shops to anchor his house, this wasn't an issue.

But it was the silver one that baffled them the most. It lead to a run down house that none of them recognized and had a creepy little thing that would curse them for even entering. Howl had been the one to check the last dial, and after running into that thing he had avoided using it.

However when Luna looked into it, she had been shocked to find that it was her home world. She recognized a house elf anywhere.

* * *

Sirius was miserable. The port key to headquarters that he had given to Luna had misfired and she had been lost for over three months. To make matters worse she had taken the paper with Dumbledore's handwriting on it, so if the Death Eaters found her then they could waltz in at any time.

Suddenly his nose caught a familiar scent, and he followed it. That was Luna's smell! Did she find her way back? What if she didn't know how to get into the house? He looked outside...nothing. Not even a stray cat.

So where was her scent coming from? He followed in his canine form, and found the scent of cooked chicken by someone who knew what they were doing to her as well. She knew he loved chicken.

He found himself in one of the unused guest rooms at the end of the hall. Why was it coming from there? He scratched the door...and fell flat on his rump when it opened without warning.

There was a man in front of him with raven black hair that was almost a dark blue, and ice blue eyes. He wore a white shirt and a blue pendant around his neck. Hearing the growl, he saw some sort of wolf-dog hybrid looking at him with warning.

"Luna! Some sort of stray came in through the silver door!" shouted a boy about nine or ten.

"What does it look like?" a woman shouted back from the upstairs.

"Death warmed over," said the man.

"Master Howl said it looks like death warmed over!"

"Bring it in so I can see it!"

Howl, the tall man with raven hair, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and hauled him in. The wolf looked rather annoyed by his intrusion but let it go.

"Now what exactly managed to get... SIRIUS!" yelped Luna.

Sirius didn't hesitate. He hugged his goddaughter with relief. Then he got a good look at her.

"Did you take aging potions or something? And why do you have silver in your hair?"

Luna rolled her eyes before she whocked him on the head with a ladle.

"How long was I missing?"

"Nearly three months," he said.

"For me it was three years," she said.

"Three years?!" Sirius said horrified.

"And here's the best part...you missed my wedding," she said.

"Wedding?!" said Sirius with a choke, before he fainted over.

"Was that really necessary? Who is he anyway?" asked Howl annoyed.

"Remember the people I told you about back when we were still dating who could turn into animals without losing themselves? He's the one who took a dog form for days on end," she said.

"Ah. Is he related to you?"

"Godfather and uncle. He was retrieving me from that woman's house when we were attacked and the portkey misfired," said Luna.

Howl calmed down at that. So he wasn't there to take his wife away.

* * *

Sirius was woken up with a bucket of water to the face courtesy of Markel. Luna was setting the table and she felt Markel would have fun waking Sirius up. The boy giggled at the surprised look on Sirius' face.

Sirius sputtered from the trick, then focused on his goddaughter.

"Please tell me that was a very bad joke," he begged.

"Nope. Howl here is my husband/partner. We advise one of the kings on matters of magic since we freed his son from a nasty curse and even set the prince up with a wife. You missed a lot while I was gone."

"King's door," shouted the fire.

"What the bloody..."

"Calcifer, you did that on purpose," scolded Luna with a grin. The fire gave her a cheeky grin.

There was another knock and Howl opened it.

"How can I help the king?"

The messenger gave him the invite. Howl thanked him before he closed the door and changed the setting to his lands.

"Another invite to a ball," said Howl, reading the letter.

"Not another one," said Luna rolling her eyes. The only reason the prince invited them to those things was to spread the misery. Occasionally they humored him. He knew Luna hated balls.

Sirius' mouth dropped.

"Howl is a powerful wizard, Calcifer (the fire waved at him) is a star demon who's bound as his familiar, Markel is his apprentice/son and Canis here is my bound familiar since he decided to switch sides when I helped Howl out," said Luna.

"And what are you?" he had to ask.

"I'm Howl's partner-slash-wife, and the one in charge of keeping the house from falling apart because these two idiots can't seem to understand that cobwebs are not supposed to snarl at you. Coincidentally do you know any alleys where I can get a new wand? My last one burst into fire when I tried to break a spell and it was too strong."

"We can hit Knockturn, so long as you can use a glamour on me."

Luna rolled her eyes.

"Howl, you still have some of those silly potions on you right?"

"You mean the ones I mixed up by mistake that turn my hair blond? I have a few left, why?" he asked.

He had quit brewing those because Luna had said she loved his natural raven hair, and he no longer had to hide from Sullivan.

"Good. Markel, can you help me find the large wash basin for later? We're going to give this old dog a make over," grinned Luna evilly.

Sirius gulped.

* * *

"I look like a bloody Malfoy!" he said unhappily.

Sirius' naturally dark black hair was now a pale gold, and he had a fake pair of glasses that turned his eyes green instead of blue. No one looked twice at him, since he didn't look like Sirius Black.

"Suck it up. It wears off and this way you can get out of that...house..." said Luna without any sympathy.

They had gone into Gringotts earlier to update the registries, and Howl had declined to go with them just yet. At least not in human form anyway. He was currently riding her shoulder as a crow. Markel was off to visit Sophie for a while until they got back.

The goblins had taken it in stride. Apparently they had contact with that world once before. Aside from finding out that the entirety of the Potter fortune was now available to her, and that Dumbledore's influence on her life was now over for good since she had aged naturally instead of artificially, Luna walked happily out of Gringotts.

"Welcome to my humble shop," said the wand maker.

"Hello. My previous wand nearly burned my hand, and I seek a replacement."

"Half off if you supply the core, wood's cheap enough unless it's a specialty or extinct," said the owner.

She handed over one of the scales. For some odd reason her animal form shed tons of dragon scales when she turned back. Occasionally they stuck around, but most of them tended to vanish into nothing.

This was from her first attempt at turning into a dragon on purpose, rather than accident.

Howl plucked one of his wing feathers and turned into his human form and handed it over.

"Hmm... River dragon scale and one star crow feather. High quality cores. Find a wood that responds to you and bring it up front. I'll have a wand done in two days," said the owner.

It took them five minutes to find a wood that suited them. Luna had one that had been inhabited by some sort of Japanese water demon that lived next to a dried up river. Howl had a wood that had been struck by a fallen star, but survived the fire.

"You can pay me once I've made the wands," said the man, and turned back to start working.

"Well that was fun. So, shall we see the shops outside the magical alleys? We could both use some new clothes, and while Howl and I might fit in you certainly wouldn't," said Luna to Sirius.

"Eh, sure. Maybe we can pick something up for Remus too," said Sirius.

Luna whipped out her 'debit' card that was tied to her gold, and they went into muggle London. She had to kick Howl a few times for gaping at the more advanced technology...and for nearly making her carry all those books he found in a bookstore.

He was as bad as Hermione during a manga raid of the Ravenclaw table after new ones came out.

* * *

Luna slipped into her new pants with relief. She liked being feminine occasionally, but she preferred pants most days.

"So Sirius said that's he's planning to tell the others you're back," said Howl, looking at his wife.

"That should be fun. You have the ear-plug spell down to an art right?" she asked.

The ear-plug spell, commonly called the Cone of Silence by others. It would be a necessary thing to use once Molly Weasley hit her stride.

"I picked up the wands...should have heard the alarms go off in that bank when I waltzed in as a human. Something about a lost line returning," said Howl shaking his head.

That had been a confusing three hours. Something about how the lost Pendragon line being found and several vaults being reopened when the bloodline had been confirmed. Howl had used so many names over the years he had forgotten his real last name _was_ Pendragon.

Luna had mostly picked that as her last name from convenience and the fact she was a fan of King Arthur.

"Well, we might as well get this over with...Markel stays with Sophie until we get the resulting scream fest over with though."


End file.
